Sorey grandit à Newark, dans le New Jersey et va à la Newark Arts High School[4]. Titulaire du "Baccalauréat en Musique Jazz" de l'université William Paterson[5], d'un "Master en composition" de l'Université Wesleyan[6], et d'un "Doctorat en Arts Musicaux et Composition" de l'Université de Columbia[7], il rejoint la faculté de la Wesleyan comme Professeur de Musique-Assistant, à l'automne 2017[8]. Il se voit remettre la même année le prix MacArthur "Génie"[9].
Sorey a sorti plusieurs albums en tant que leader, y compris That/Not (Firehouse 12 Records, 2007), Koan (482 Music, 2009), Oblique (Pi, 2011), Alloy (Pi, 2014), The Inner Spectrum of Variables (Pi, 2016), Verisimilitude (Pi, 2017), et Pillars (Pi, 2018).
↑Atmonavage, Joseph. "Everyone knew this Newark native was special. Now he's officially a genius", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, October 23, 2017. Accessed 14, 2018. "When talking about the newly minted MacArthur Foundation 'genius grant' winner and Newark native Tyshawn Sorey, Mark Gross likes to recount his first meeting with Sorey.... After graduating from Newark Arts High School, he went to William Paterson in Wayne, then received his doctoral of music from Columbia University, all while making and composing transcendent music with a plethora of instruments."